Doli Roti

Hiya! How are you doing today? I am here again with another recipe as promised. This one is an old and classic preparation, my grandmother used to make at home when we were little kids. Its an age old, lost Multani recipe. Doli roti is basically leavened flat bread with a spiced sour dough base. The dough used to be fermented over a period of a few days and contained a spice blend. The basic process is somewhat like the Home Grown Yeast that I had made earlier. But we will be using a slightly expedited method as we already have the Yeast culture ready. 

Now picture this, its summer time and you have your vacations. You pack your bags, actually you create a ruckus while your mother packs your bags, and board the train to your Nani’s place. All the cousins get together for a wonderful time and there is so much activity all around. Playing cricket, hide-n-seek, running helter-skelter, and much much more. Someone or the other is always howling, there’s pales of laughter and sudden cries. And there is always food. Lots and lots of food. Because someone or the other is hungry at all times, even in the middle of the night. And then the kitchen is raided. Before you know it, all the cookie jars are empty, the cold drink bottles drained, the sweets devoured and dozens of bananas gone. Well I don’t know if the banana thing happened at your Nani’s place, but it surely happened at mine. Around a dozen bananas gone in a night.

A lot of forces are needed to manage this kind of a rowdy crowd. The stores should always be full, refrigerators fully stacked and the fruit basket overflowing. In this scenario, the elders had to have a few things ready in storage that can just be removed from the upper level cabinets and refilled in easily accessible boxes. One of these things used to be Doli Roti. Either plain or stuffed with a Chana Dal or Potato Mixture, they were an instant energy snack, and also quite filling at that. Not all the kids liked it a lot, but I was crazy for them, and they were my go to snack. 

The authentic way to do it is to make a dough by mixing flour with water infused with spices and Chana Dal essence and fermenting it over a period of a few days before frying the flattened and stuffed dough balls. Yes, traditionally the cooking method used is frying. But we are all so health conscious, are we not? So, I have included a baked version. Honestly, the best results are when you fry it. Its not bad to indulge yourself sometime, isn’t it? And there is always another way out. You can make it two ways. A few pieces fried, for the indulgence, the rest you can bake for a clearer conscious (and calorie count). So much for the previous guilt trip, huh? Well, whatever way you choose, fried or baked, it is going to be a great dish to make and enjoy, keeping a tradition alive as well as time travelling to your childhood days when there were no tensions and worries, we were running around under the hot sun or soaking in the untimely rain. The time when time itself stood still so that the kids could play to the contentment of their hearts. 

Ingredients:

For Spiced Water:

Water – 3 cups

Poppy Seeds (Khus Khus) – 1 1/2 tbsp

Fennel Seeds (Saunf) – 1 tbsp

Cinnamon Stick – 1-2 sticks

Dry Ginger Powder (Sonth) – 2 tsp

Mace (Javitri) – 1 tbsp

Black Cardamom – 2

Cloves (Laung) – 2 tsp

Star Anise – 4-5

Nutmeg (Jaiphal) – 1

For Dough:

Whole Wheat Flour – 1 kg

Sugar – 250 gm

Salt – 20 gm

Home Grown Yeast Culture – 50 gm

Spiced Water – made in the first step

For Cooking:

Oil for frying – Option 1

Milk for Glazing – Option 2

Method:

1. Boil the water with the spices and reduce to half. 

2. In a bowl, make a dough combining all the ingredients. You can decrease the quantity of sugar to half if you want. Just remember that the bread is slightly sweet and sour, and if you decrease the sugar, the sourness will increase. 

3. Add Water to make a dough that is soft and elastic. Grease a bowl and put the dough in. Cover with a damp cloth and keep in a warm and dry place overnight. 

4. In the morning, invert the dough on a floured surface and knock the air out. Divide the dough into small balls, the size you would keep for a Parantha. You can stuff the dough at this stage, if required, with Chana Dal or Potato or Onion mixture, like a Parantha. If you are baking the bread, grease a couple of baking trays and keep the rolled bread on these.

5. Roll and keep aside for around 30 – 40 minutes. The thickness should be around 4-5 mm. Now you can fry or bake the bread. 

6. For frying, heat oil in a Wok and fry on a medium flame till golden brown. Remove on a tray lined with paper towel. Have hot or cool down and store in airtight containers. You can also refrigerate and consume later.

7. For Baking, pre-heat the oven to 220 degree Celcius. Once the oven is hot, apply a glaze of milk on top of the bread and bake for around 10 – 12 minutes or till golden brown. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Cool and store. 

P.S. – This bread can be stored for a week or two. You can put in the refrigerator and heat it in the microwave or on a griddle plate (tawa). It can be consumed just like this or you can have it with your favourite pickle.